I just received "The Window," Deal Hudson's email blast, which tells the story of Fr. Santoro's funeral and his mother's attitude of mercy towards his young killer. Santoro, you'll recall, is the Italian priest murdered in Turkey by a kid yelling, "Allahu akbar," taking his revenge for Danish cartoons on the first random Christian he encountered, apparently. You may have heard this part:
At Fr. Santoro's funeral, which was attended by thousands including political and Church leaders, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, affirmed that he intended to open the priest's cause for canonization. He also reported, "With all her heart the mother of Father Andrea forgives the person who armed himself to kill her son, and she feels great pain for him because he, too, is a son of the one God who is love."
Television cameras recording the funeral panned to where the mother of the slain priest sat and showed her nodding at the Cardinal's words. A member of the Curia told me that it was an extremely powerful moment of forgiveness, one which deeply touched all who saw it on Italian television. He thought it was important to bring it to the attention of American Catholics.
But I'll bet you haven't heard this additional detail:
In response to the forgiveness of Fr. Santoro's mother, the father of the killer, Hikmet Akdin, told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, "I know, and ever since I heard those words I have a desire in my heart. I want to save enough money to go to Italy and kiss that woman's hands as a sign of gratitude. Please tell her how much I appreciate her goodness, which has touched me. I want to embrace her. She's a courageous woman, and I'm sure is an excellent mother. I'll kiss her hands, if it's the last act of my life."
Those two reactions seem to live out Fr. Santoro's words, in what was to be the last column for his web page:
Moreover, Jesus said: 'I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness.' If his light illuminates us, not only will it illuminate every situation, even the most tragic, but in addition we too, as he always said, will be light. The tenuous light of a candle illuminates a house; an extinguished lamp leaves everything in darkness. May he shine in us with his Word, with his Spirit, with the sap of his saints. May our life be the wax that is consumed willingly.
The whole thing isn't posted yet, but will be here eventually.
